The Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball program represents

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...

Starkville, Mississippi Starkville is a city in, and the county seat of, Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States. Mississippi State University is a land-grant institution and is located partially in Starkville but primarily in an adjacent unincorporated area desig ...

, in men's

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

basketball. The Bulldogs play in the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

. On March 20, 2022, Mississippi State named former

New Mexico State New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...

head coach

Chris Jans Christopher Paul Jans (born April 12, 1969) is the American college basketball head coach for Mississippi State. Jans previously coached at New Mexico State, where he led the Aggies from 2017 to 2022. Jans is a graduate of Loras College, and hails ...

as its 21st head basketball coach.

History

The Bulldogs have been to the NCAA Tournament eleven times, the first time in 1963 and the most recent being 2019. Mississippi State chose not to accept previous bids because the university viewed African-Americans as inferior and refused to play teams with African-American players. The 1963 team, however, famously snuck out of the state in the dead of night to play in what has since been dubbed the "

Game of Change The Game of Change was a college basketball game played between the Loyola Ramblers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs on March 15, 1963, during the second round of the 1963 NCAA University Division basketball tournament, at Jenison Fieldh ...

". Six of the ten NCAA appearances have been earned in the past 10 seasons under former MSU Head Basketball Coach,

Rick Stansbury Richard Lee Stansbury (born December 23, 1959), is an American college basketball and the current head coach of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team. He was previously the head coach at Mississippi State. He was hired as the WKU head c ...

. They have won 10 conference championships, four as a member of the now-dissolved

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) was one of the first collegiate athletic conferences in the United States. Twenty-seven of the current Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) football programs were members of this conferen ...

in 1912, 1913, 1914, and 1916 in addition to six SEC titles in 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1991, and 2004. The Bulldogs have won four conference tournament championships, one as a member of the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly ...

in 1923 and three

SEC tournament The Southeastern Conference (SEC) sponsors nine men's sports and twelve women's sports. This is a list of conference champions for each sport. Also see the list of SEC national champions. Members The SEC was established on December 1932, when t ...

titles in 1996, 2002, and 2009. Mississippi State has several notable alumni including

Erick Dampier Erick Travez Dampier (born July 14, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Indiana Pacers, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks. ...

, Bailey Howell, and

Jarvis Varnado Jarvis Lamar Varnado (born March 1, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for Club Atlético Aguada of the Liga Uruguaya de Básquetbol. Varnado is known as a defensive specialist and is especially adept at shot blocking where he's ...

Coaches

Mississippi State's most successful coaches include

Babe McCarthy James Harrison "Babe" McCarthy (October 1, 1923 – March 17, 1975), was an American professional and collegiate basketball coach. McCarthy was originally from Baldwyn, Mississippi. McCarthy may best be remembered for Mississippi State's appearan ...

, Richard Williams, and

. Babe McCarthy's place in history includes taking his team to the 1963 NCAA Tournament under the cover of darkness despite the Mississippi Governor's court order restricting their participation. †NCAA canceled all postseason activities for all college sports due to the COVID-19 virus.

Rivals

As in all sports, Mississippi State's rival is Ole Miss. Mississippi State leads the series over Ole Miss 142–112. Former MSU Head Coach Rick Stansbury is 21–8 vs the Rebels. Former head coach

Ben Howland Benjamin Clark Howland (born May 28, 1957) is an American college basketball coach who most recently served as the men's head coach at Mississippi State University from to 2015 to 2022. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Northern ...

, was 6–9 against the Rebels. Mississippi State and

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

are considered rivals on the court, with only 90 miles separating the two programs. The Crimson Tide lead the all-time series 120–74.

Former players

All-Americans

Notable basketball players who attended and played at Mississippi State University. *

Arnett Moultrie Arnett Nathaniel Moultrie (born November 18, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association. He played college basketball with UTEP and Mississippi State. High school In Mou ...

, 1st round, 2012 NBA draft. *

, 2nd round, 2010 NBA draft. NCAA career record holder with 564 blocked shots. One of only two college players to have at least 1000 points, 1000 rebounds, and 500 blocked shots, the other being

David Robinson David Maurice Robinson (born August 6, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1989 to 2003, and minority owner of the Spurs. Nicknamed ...

. * Lawrence Roberts, 2nd round, 2005 NBA draft. *

Timmy Bowers Timmy, or sometimes Timmie, is a masculine name, a short form of Timothy or Tim. This variation is popular as a nickname and is commonly used when someone is young, but is often used in adulthood. It is a version of the Greek name ( Timόtheos ...

, 2006

Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP The Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP, or Israeli Basketball Super League MVP, is an annual basketball award that is presented to the most valuable player in a given season of the Israeli Basketball Premier League, which is the top-tier lev ...

Malik Newman Malik Tidderious Newman (born February 21, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for Avtodor Saratov of the VTB United League. He played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks. He attended Callaway High School in Jackson, Mis ...

(born 1997), basketball player in the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...

* Derrick Zimmerman, 2nd round, 2003 NBA draft. * Tyrone Washington, 2nd round, 1999 NBA draft. *

Dontae' Jones Dontae' Antijuaine Jones (born June 2, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player, formerly of the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Jones played college basketball at Northeast Mississippi Community ...

, 1st round, 1996 NBA draft. *

Jeff Malone Jeffrey Nigel Malone (born June 28, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball at Mississippi State Bulldogs basketball, Mississippi State, and is mostly known for his time with the Washington Bullet ...

, 1st round, 1983 NBA draft. Two time NBA All-Star. *

Rickey Brown Rickey Darnell Brown (born August 29, 1958) is an American former professional basketball player. At a height of 2.08 m (6'10") tall, he played at the power forward and center positions. High school Brown attended and played high school basketb ...

, 1st round, 1980 NBA draft. * Wiley Peck, 1st round, 1979 NBA draft. * Bailey Howell, 1st round, 1959 NBA draft. Six time NBA All-Star. Elected to the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

in 1997.

SEC West Division titles

The years the Bulldogs won were as follows: 1995, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010

Postseason

NCAA tournament results

The Bulldogs have appeared in the NCAA tournament 11 times. Their combined record is 11–11. The Bulldogs qualified for the 1959 tournament but university president

Benjamin F. Hilbun Benjamin Franklin Hilbun (November 14, 1890 – December 13, 1963) was the President of the Mississippi State College during its name change to Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, common ...

would not permit the team to participate in the tournament where they would face African-American players.

NIT results

The Bulldogs have appeared in the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...

(NIT) 11 times. Their combined record is 13–11.

Awards

NCAA Defensive Player of the Year

SEC Coach of the Year

SEC Player of the Year

SEC Defensive Player of the Year

Howell Trophy Award winners

Retired numbers

Mississippi State has retired one jersey number for Bailey Howell, doing so on February 7, 2009 at the Coliseum. Mississippi State has also honored two others with honorary banners.

Honored jerseys

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mississippi State Bulldogs Men's Basketball